Tuition Exchange is a program through which dependent children of eligible College employees may apply for scholarships for undergraduate study at other colleges and universities participating in the Tuition Exchange Program. A list of the more than 500 participating colleges and universities, and additional information, is available on the Tuition Exchange web site.
Scholarships up to the full cost of tuition may be awarded by the institution the child attends; each institution determines the amount of its scholarship within Tuition Exchange Program guidelines. Some schools may offer less than full tuition. The Tuition Exchange web site includes details.
The Tuition Exchange Program is not a fringe benefit in the usual sense, as there is substantial external control over scholarships that are awarded. To receive a scholarship:
- the employee-parent must be eligible for education assistance benefits per Franklin & Marshall policies (as described in General Policies & Eligibility), and must successfully apply in a timely manner, through Franklin & Marshall, to participate in the Tuition Exchange Program (as described below),
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the child of an eligible College employee must be admitted to a Tuition Exchange school based on that school's admission policies, and
- the Tuition Exchange school the child is attending must award the child a Tuition Exchange scholarship; the institution the child is attending determines whether a scholarship will be offered and the duration and value of the scholarship.
Each Tuition Exchange member institution sets and applies its own standards for admission and has full discretion in making awards. If a child of a College employee is awarded a Tuition Exchange scholarship by the school he/she is attending, the child must meet certain criteria to retain the scholarship; students must meet the host institution's standards for academic performance and personal conduct. The employee-parent is encouraged to visit the Tuition Exchange web site (www.tuitionexchange.org) for more information.
Application Procedures and Administrative Guidelines
Franklin & Marshall faculty and professional staff, and eligible retirees, must apply for participation in the Tuition Exchange Program via the Online Application. November 15 of the academic year preceding the child's college enrollment is the deadline for completing the Online Application showing your child's intent to participate in the Tuition Exchange Program. In order to complete the application, you must include the names of the institutions that your child is interested in pursuing through your Tuition Exchange benefits. Please include schools in your application, even if your child's plans to attend that school are tentative. Once you complete the Online Application, you will receive a submission receipt, as will the Human Resources Office.
The number of Tuition Exchange slots available to children of College employees is regulated by the Tuition Exchange organization. The College must balance its number of outgoing Tuition Exchange students or "exports" (children of Franklin & Marshall faculty and professional staff who attend other Tuition Exchange schools) with the number of incoming Tuition Exchange students, or "imports" (children of employees working at other Tuition Exchange member schools who are admitted to Franklin & Marshall). Up to two children of an eligible full-time employee may normally participate in the Tuition Exchange Program.
If a dependent child is awarded a Tuition Exchange slot through Franklin & Marshall, Human Resources must be notified by April 15 preceding the academic year of college enrollment if the child will be accepting admission to the Tuition Exchange school.
If an employee or retiree is not successful in securing a Tuition Exchange scholarship in a given academic year for a dependent, he/she may re-apply in any subsequent year in which both the employee and the child remain eligible for education assistance benefits per this policy.
A faculty or staff member who is unsuccessful in securing a Tuition Exchange scholarship may apply for a Children's Scholarship as outlined above.
Once an employee's or retiree's child has been awarded a Tuition Exchange scholarship, the parent will remain eligible for participation in the Tuition Exchange Program per Franklin & Marshall policies. As noted above, the child will need to remain a student in good-standing and meet criteria established by the institution he/she is attending to retain the scholarship.